Well water in Lake Johanna township, Minnesota
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Testing strongly recommended
tested well samples in Lake Johanna township exceeded the EPA limit for nitrate (10 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
17 private wells tested 2015 to 2019 in state summaries; 151 test results across 9 contaminants from at least 12 wells, 1982 to 2025; chloride has the most at 41. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
What homeowner tests found
MDA Township Testing Program nitrate: private wells tested and reported to the state, 2015 to 2019. Shares are against the level the state applies to each contaminant, named in the last column; several are stricter than EPA.
| Contaminant | Above state level | Wells tested | Median | 95th pct | Highest | State level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate | 17 | 10 mg/L |
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Lake Johanna township. Above limit means above the EPA maximum contaminant level; where EPA has no enforceable limit, the row shows a health guideline or nuisance level instead.
| Contaminant | Above limit | Samples | Detected | Median | Highest | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate 1982 to 2005 | 35 | 89% | 9.1 | 44 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1982 to 2025 | no limit | 41 | 100% | 22 | 66.3 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1982 to 2005 | no limit | 25 | 80% | 40 | 210 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Iron 1982 to 2005 | no limit | 25 | 92% | 100 | 5,170 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Fluoride (9), Copper (3), Lead (2), Arsenic (2), Sodium (9).
Closer than the town
See the sampled wells near your address
The same records, drawn around one point: which wells within a few miles were sampled and what they found, how deep the wells next to you were drilled, and any leaking tank or cleanup site within a mile.
Check my addressWhat this means
Among homeowners in Lake Johanna township who sent a sample to the state lab, no health-based limit was exceeded often enough to publish a share. That is good news, but a single well can still be the exception.
What to test for in Lake Johanna township
- 1Nitrate49% of 35 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 3FluorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 4ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 5IronDetected in 92% of local samples.
- 6ManganeseDetected in 80% of local samples.
- 7CopperDetected in 67% of local samples.
Test your Lake Johanna township well for nitrate, coliform bacteria and fluoride
Certified lab analysis of your own tap water, bottles and prepaid return shipping included. The Essential well panel covers arsenic, uranium, nitrate, lead, copper, manganese, iron, sodium and bacteria; radon and PFAS are add-ons.
Order the Tap Score well water test kit, from $209Already tested? Upload the report
Just want bacteria checked first? Tap Score coliform and E. coli test, $99. Coliform and E. coli are the tests every well needs every year.
Want a quick look before paying for a lab? Home well water test strips on Amazon check hardness, iron, pH and nitrate in minutes. They are a screen, not a result: arsenic, bacteria, uranium and PFAS need a certified lab.
Affiliate links: the merchant pays us a commission and the price is the same for you. It does not change what the data above says. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Where to get a well tested in Minnesota: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Lake Johanna township numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
The rock under Lake Johanna township
Lower Cretaceous aquifers
Sandstone. Sandstone wells draw from pore space in the rock and tend to be dependable. Iron, manganese and hardness are common, and some sandstones carry arsenic or radium, so a first test should include both.
Classification from the USGS Principal Aquifers of the United States (national map, 2003 edition, GIS release 2015), read at the town centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.
Official help in Minnesota
Two places to start that are not selling anything: the state program that answers private well questions, and its list of labs certified to run drinking water tests. A certified lab is the difference between a result you can act on and a number.
- Wells and Borings, Minnesota Department of Health
- Accredited Laboratories as Well Partners, Minnesota Department of Health
Contamination sources on record in Lake Johanna township
MPCA records 2 regulated sites in Lake Johanna township, among 2 regulated sites in total. Groundwater does not follow property lines, so a well within a few hundred feet of one of these is worth testing for what that site could release.
- 1
- registered underground storage tank siteRegistered tanks are regulated and inspected; they matter most when they are old or near a shallow well.
- 1
- lined landfill or transfer facility
Treatment that fits the local profile
Nitrate
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Distillation
Iron
Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration
Manganese
Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
Systems we would look at first
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the merchant pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we list or what the data says.
For nitrate
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For nitrate
Aquasana SmartFlow reverse osmosis
under-sink or countertop, about $225
Certified to NSF/ANSI 58 and 53 to reduce arsenic (96%, pentavalent), fluoride (90%), lead (99%), nitrate, nitrite and PFOA/PFOS at the kitchen tap, with a remineralizer.
For manganese
Iron and manganese oxidizing filter
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $1,800
Air-injection or greensand media; fixes staining at the source.
Free, no obligation
Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Lake Johanna township
No water treatment company serves Lake Johanna township through Well Water Nerd yet. We are signing licensed companies on county by county: they test at your tap for free, walk you through the numbers, and quote treatment only if something needs fixing. Leave your details and you are first in line. Nothing is shared until a company joins for Lake Johanna township, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How often should I test a private well in Lake Johanna township?
Test for bacteria and nitrate every year. Test once for arsenic, uranium, radon, fluoride, manganese and PFAS, then again every three to five years or after any change in taste, color, or plumbing.
Towns near Lake Johanna township
Closest first. Groundwater does not stop at a line on a map, so the next town over is a fair second opinion.
Want the numbers themselves? Download the Minnesota dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 151 samples in Lake Johanna township. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- MDA Township Testing Program nitrate: summaries for 1 contaminants in Lake Johanna township, up to 17 wells each. Nitrate results from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Township Testing Program, 2013 to 2019, which offered a free test to every well in 344 townships with vulnerable groundwater. Townships were selected for vulnerable geology and row-crop land use, so their shares run above the state as a whole; county and state figures are not derived from them. Share is the final (follow-up) result above 10 mg/L as N. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- MPCA regulated sites: 2 regulated sites located in Lake Johanna township. Tank, leak, remediation, Superfund and landfill sites from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency What's In My Neighborhood database. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
Non-detects count as samples and are treated as zero when computing medians. Exactly at the limit counts as not above it. A sample belongs to the town containing the well's reported coordinates.